Was in Kansas City MO recently and was very pleasantly surprised by the espresso at PT coffee and at Messenger coffee.

Thanks for posting. Great coffee shops are unfortunately few and far between in the Chicago burbs, now at least I know of a new one to try in the city.

new2espresso wrote:I'm there the whole week of thanksgiving. Thank you!

I just got back from France so I haven't had a chance to go through and taste before your arrival. I would have replied sooner but my notes are on paper here at home.

Another post alluded to Collective Espresso being the best in town. That holds true for most people at most times, with a slight preference for the OTR location over the Northside for absolute flavor. I prefer the Northside location for ambience. Both are worth a visit. Typically the best pourover in town and espresso is probably the second or third best in town.

Deeper Roots is acceptable for their alchemy espresso but I've always had extremely underextracted pourovers. If you like their coffee it's better as pourover at 1215 Wine Bar and Coffee Lab. I'd personally pass on any Deeper Roots but some people love what they do.

La Terza has a cafe in their roastery. It is over by my place so I'm in from time to time. Third best espresso in town, but I've never had a manual brew there.

Urbana does great milk drinks and pretty good espresso. Their Walnut Hills location has been the best for me. Fourth Best espresso in town.

Hyde Perk serves good coffee but has been inconsistent for me. I'd again lean towards manual brew or milk drinks over straight espresso. I'd probably skip them unless you're really on a mission to taste everything.

The analog bar at Carabello is good if you're willing to go to Newport. Skip the main cafe, it isn't worth the trip.

The best espresso I've had in town was from Proud Hound when they did a pop up. They're good at what they do and really kind people. I don't think they have a shop in their roastery yet, but it would be worth a call to see where their truck is going to be or if you can pop in and get something where they roast. At least when I had it, they were slinging the best espresso in town.

Thank you so much for this list!

Agreed, thanks! Your notes mirror my experiences exactly. I miss being able to walk to 1215... And now I'm kicking myself for missing the Proud Hound popup at High Grain. I drive by their roastery on the way to work and always have to glance to see if it looks like a cafe is in the works (nothing so far).